(Reuters) -
Islamist insurgents attacked the outskirts of northeast Nigeria's main
city Maiduguri on Sunday, engaging in a gun battle with soldiers that
killed at least eight people, witnesses and a security source said.

Militant group Boko
Haram has killed thousands since it launched its revolt in Maiduguri
five years ago and wants the city to become the capital of a separate
Islamist state.

"There is
heavy gunfire going on. Everybody is panicking and trying to flee the
area," said Idris Abubakar, a resident of Polo on the western outskirts
of the city.

Growing
violence by the insurgents is a major headache for President Goodluck
Jonathan who faces elections on Feb. 14 that analysts say are too close
to call.

Capturing
Maiduguri would be a huge victory for Boko Haram, which currently
controls mostly rural areas along the Cameroon and Chad borders that
together make up a territory the size of Belgium.

Resident Babagana Lawan said a grenade fell on his house, killing his brother and two factory workers living with him.

A security source confirmed the attack had occurred, but said troops had been mobilized to try to repel the insurgents.

A hospital source said eight bodies had been brought in from the fighting.

Boko Haram has become the main security threat to the stability of Africa's biggest economy and top oil producer, and increasingly threatens its neighbors.

The
Nigerian government has been obliged to buy black-market weapons to
fight Boko Haram because the West refused to give it any military help, a
prominent member of Nigeria’s ruling party says.

Nuhu Ribadu, a
former Nigerian anti-corruption czar who is now a star candidate for the
ruling party in a northern state where the Islamist radical militia has
wreaked havoc, said Nigeria was “desperate” for military supplies and
had to turn to the black market because Western governments were
unwilling to help.

“The world might regard this as illegal,
but we were being stopped from getting help and our people were being
slaughtered,” Mr. Ribadu told The Globe and Mail on Friday.

“We were being wiped out, and the world didn’t give a damn. Nigeria was forced into the black market.”

The United States and other countries,
including Canada, had promised to provide surveillance equipment to help
Nigeria search for more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram
last year, but they broke their promises, Mr. Ribadu said.

“They did not give us anything,” he said. “It was just niceties.”

Suspicions of black-market weapons-buying
have been floating around Nigeria since last September, when South
Africa detained a mysterious Nigerian plane carrying $9.3-million (U.S.)
in cash. Media reports at the time said the money was intended for
illicit arms purchases.

Mr. Ribadu acknowledged that Nigerian
authorities had “gotten into trouble” when they shopped for weapons on
the black market, including in South Africa. “They were looking for
tools of war from anywhere in the world.”

This week, South African media reported
that 100 private “military experts” from South Africa are heading to
Nigeria on a contract with the Nigerian government to train its soldiers
to fight Boko Haram. The South African government responded by
describing the former South African soldiers as “mercenaries” who would
be arrested when they returned home.

Mr. Ribadu said he could not give details
of Nigeria’s black-market arms purchases. “The world arms market is a
very murky one,” he said. “The arms could come from anywhere in the
world.”

He said the black-market weapons have
helped Nigerian troops regain control of several towns Boko Haram had
captured in Adamawa, the state where he is running for governor as the
candidate of the ruling People’s Democratic Party.

“They didn’t have enough bullets, and now
they have enough,” he said. “There are some helicopter gunships that
they have bought recently. I have heard them moving around.”

The United States and other Western
countries have been reluctant to send military aid to Nigeria because of
concerns about corruption and human-rights abuses by Nigeria’s army.
Human rights groups have alleged that the Nigerian military routinely
commits atrocities in the northeast of the country.

Last August, for example, Amnesty
International said it had seen “gruesome footage” of Nigerian soldiers
slitting the throats of detainees and dumping them in mass graves.

But these allegations of human rights
violations have demoralized the army and indirectly helped Boko Haram,
according to Mr. Ribadu.

On Friday, the African Union endorsed a
plan to create a West African task force of 7,500 troops to fight Boko
Haram. Soldiers from Chad are already reported to be active in battling
the Islamist militants near Nigeria’s border with Cameroon.

In the past, Nigeria rejected the idea
that it needed foreign military help. But now it seems to have accepted
the military support from its West African neighbours. “It’s only fair
and right that others should come in and support us,” Mr. Ribadu said.
“We never got the assistance that Iraq and Afghanistan are getting.”

In spite of the subtle plot to postpone next month’s general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is forging ahead with its preparations.

The commission has released the breakdown of 119, 973 polling units where the elections will hold nationwide.

All Polling Units (PUs) in private compounds, mosques and churches have been relocated – in line with international best practices.

Besides, INEC has blocked the cloning of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) by desperate politicians through the deployment of Smart Card Readers.

With the distribution of 145,000 Smart Card Readers, no one can use stolen or purchased PVCs.

There have been calls in some circles for the postponement of theelections, but INEC Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega has told the United States, the European Union (EU) and international organisations that the election will hold as scheduled on February 14 and 28.

Jega has also met with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) where it was decided that the polls must go on as scheduled.

The INEC boss has got support from many quarters to hold the elections.

A one-time president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Mustapha Akanbi said yesterday in Ilorin that the call for polls shift is “suspicious” and “mischievous”.

A Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) also said yesterday that calling for a postponement was unacceptable because it could lead to civil unrest.

The same position was expressed by the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) made up of 2 political parties.

To them a shift will send a wrong signal and throw the country into chaos and anarchy.

A top source, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, said: “From the reports delivered by all departments, units and RECs, there is no reason we will not go ahead with the elections as from February 14.

“We are going ahead with preparations for the polls irrespective of issues being raised by some people. The INEC chairman has refrained from making comments to avoid the electoral body being accused of bias.”

It was gathered that at the operational meeting and a session with political parties on Tuesday, INEC released the breakdown of 119, 973 Polling Units (PUs) where the elections will hold nationwide.

The commission has also given a list of how the 145,000 smart cards were deployed in all the polling units to the parties.

A National Commissioner said: “We have developed a general framework for Polling Units, in line with international standards. This is why we have relocated all PUs from churches, mosques, private compounds and even verandah of schools.

“The electoral benchmark is that all PUs should be inside enclosures to be able to monitor the voting process and ensure effective control of the situation.”

INEC has shared 145,000 Smart Reader Cards (SRCs) to all the RECs in the 36 states and FCT to check rigging or manipulation during the elections with cloned/ stolen/ purchased PVCs.

The National Commissioner added: “These Smart Reader Cards will authenticate the holder of any PVC, confirm his or her finger print and detect fake or cloned PVC.

“The SRCs help to count and record every accreditation done at the PUs. So, the question of rigging will not be there at all. Those busy cloning or buying cards will meet their waterloo at the Polling Units.

“The introduction of SRCs explains why we cannot allow those with temporary voter cards to vote in February. We have 119, 973 polling units but we have deployed 145,000 SRCs to all the states and the FCT.”

One of the hostages held during a siege at an Australian cafe last
month was killed by a ricochet of at least one police bullet that also
injured three other hostages, an inquest into the deaths was told on
Thursday.

Jeremy Gormly, counsel assisting the New South Wales state coroner,
said lawyer Katrina Dawson, 38, was hit by six fragments of a police
bullet, or bullets, with one striking a major blood vessel.

"She lost consciousness quickly and died shortly afterwards," Gormly said at the opening of the inquest.

Police stormed the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in central Sydney in the early
hours of December 16, ending a 17-hour siege by Man Haron Monis after
the gunman shot cafe manager Tori Johnson, 34.

Johnson's execution - he was ordered to kneel and then shot without
warning at close range in the back of the head - was witnessed by a
police marksman, Gormly said.

Monis, 50, who fired five rounds from a sawn-off pump action shotgun,
was killed instantly by several police bullets and bullet fragments to
the head and body, Gormly added.

The inquest is running alongside a government inquiry into how Monis
was able to access a gun and why he was granted bail while facing
charges as an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife. He was also facing
more than 40 sexual assault charges.

The self-styled sheik harboured deep grievances against the
Australian government and had found little kinship in the city's large
Muslim community, where he was seen as deeply troubled.

He was found guilty in 2012 of sending threatening letters to the
families of eight Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan as a protest
against Australia's involvement there.

Gormly said investigators had so far not established any contact
between Monis and Islamic State before the siege. There was evidence
that a psychiatric profile of Monis "will throw light" on his
motivations, he said.

Monis ordered and consumed a piece of chocolate cafe and tea after
entering the cafe early on Dec. 15, the inquest heard. Around half an
hour later, he asked to move tables and to speak to manager Johnson, who
then asked an employee to lock the doors. Once that was done, Monis
stood up, putting on a vest and bandana, telling staff, according to one
hostage account: "This is an attack. I have a bomb."Coroner Michael
Barnes said he would conduct the inquiry as quickly as possible, noting
it raised "issues relevant to the actual security and the sense of
security of the wider population".

An overloaded fishing trawler carrying dozens of passengers, who were on
their way to Malaysia illegally, sank in the Bay of Bengal early on
Thursday, raising the concern that traffickers were still active in the
southern coastal region despite some recent attempts to curb it.

At least 39 people were recovered from waters by coast guard after
the boat capsized off Kutubdia island in the Bay of Bengal, said local
coast guard official Tareq Mostafa.

It was not exactly clear how many passengers were on board during the
accident but local officials said, quoting survivors, that it would not
be more than 60.

Survivors said they were picked up from at least four points by the
traffickers along the Karnaphuli river in Chittagong on the way to
southern coastal district of Cox’s Bazar. Thirty-one passengers were
recovered from waters near Kutubdia island when eight others were
rescued from near Moheshkhali island, said Ruhul Amin, deputy
commissioner of Cox’s Bazar district. Both the areas are under Cox’s
Bazar.

Shohidul Islam, another coast guard official, said they were not
immediately clear why the boat sank but from primary information from
the survivors indicated that it was overloaded.

Laurent Leger, an investigative journalist with Charlie Hebdo,
survived unhurt in the terror attack on the magazine office in Paris on
of January 7 in which two gunmen killed 11 people. The attacks lasted
for three days and left 17 dead. The journalist shared his horrific
experience and talked about media freedom in an exclusive interview with
HT.

Where were you when the Charlie Hebdo attacks occurred?

I
was in the room. We were about to finish the editorial meeting. We
heard what we thought were firecrackers. I had my back to the door when
one man entered masked and armed and said "Allah-o-Akbar" at least
twice. I barely had the time to turn when he started showering the room
with bullets. I got up and hid under a small table. This survival
instinct saved me. All my colleagues were on the floor. I felt it lasted
really long, but in reality it lasted just a few minutes. After the
firing there was silence. I heard footsteps and heard him speaking in
French to someone else. I heard him saying to a woman, "We will not kill
women" but they had killed one already in the meeting room. They left
and we could hear them shooting in the street. When I understood that
they had gone out of the office, I didn't come out immediately because
they were firing outside. It was a terrifying scene.

What were you discussing in the meeting just before the attack?

We
were discussing Michel Houellebecq's book that had come out the week
before (novel that talks of a future in which France is ruled by
Muslims). Some said it was anticipating the future, that it was a good
novel and was funny, and others said it was serving extreme right wing
ideas. We spoke of Jihad also.

How are you coping today?

We are very busy.
We have a lot of support. We meet each other a lot and that allows us to
comfort each other. For the moment, I am more or less okay, but I'm
afraid of what will happen afterwards when solitude will return, when
we'll be alone thinking about our dead, our injured. It will be harder
then.

Does it still seem unreal?

Yes. It still
feels unreal. Even though the burials make you realise what has
happened. But it was so quick and so brutal that we are finding it hard
to grasp the events. We are still wondering how we'll run the journal
without those who are gone. So we are still trying to figure out how we
will run the journal. We feel orphaned.

It
was almost miraculous, even though at Charlie Hebdo we don't believe in
miracles! From being a journal read just by tens of thousands, we
became a journal read by millions. We'd have sold from 7-8 million
copies. It's enormous. We've never seen a magazine sell so much in
France, so it's really something unheard of until now. The issue at
stake is freedom of expression, simply freedom. It's the fight against
all terrorism, fanaticism, and extremism. Those who commit these acts
(terror attacks) are not Muslims. They are people who have been
brainwashed, manipulated. None of this has anything to with Islam
obviously.

There is a lot of debate around your humour. Are you also asking yourself questions about the tone for the future journals?

No.
For us, all these are obvious things. We've been working on for years
with all religions, and we will continue to do so. We did it for
Catholicism for about 10 years when that was an issue. In the world,
Catholicism is not longer an issue. It's more about what's happening in
Muslim countries. Is Islam a political religion or not? These are the
questions. We've been talking about these things for decades. Anyway,
it's not compulsory to buy Charlie Hebdo.

Some say mocking the religion of a population that already
feels oppressed in France is not the same thing as mocking Christianity,
or the state or the police?

No. This is completely
wrong. French history shows that for centuries, the state and the church
fought each other and finally the state managed to throw religion out
of the public sphere. The law of 1905 came about. Today, Islam wants to
invade the political and public space, so it's the same reaction that
continues.

What about the problem of racism, discrimination? PM Manuel
Valls said there is "a territorial, social, ethnic apartheid" in France.

We've
always fought against racism, xenophobia. We fight for republican
values of tolerance and of living together. We have helped associations
who work with immigrants. We defend minorities. We are a very feminist
journal. We defend women's rights, gay rights, and immigrants. We
attacked successive governments, whether from the right or left around
the question of Roma people.

Lots of Indian publications and channels did not show your front cover.

These
are media that are not free, and they accept not to be free. It's their
problem. It was the same in the US. I think CBS showed it, but not
many. I was surprised because I thought in the US the media was free and
I see in India they don't feel free either. But freedom of expression
recognises no constraint. If we say we are free but we won't do this or
that, we'll reach a point one day where there will be nothing left to be
done because we won't be able to say anything. In France, freedom of
expression is protected by the law, the liberty to blaspheme is
authorised.

So the idea of "responsibility" in humour annoys you?

If
people do not want to read a journal that criticises religion, they
shouldn't read it. No one is under any obligation to read it. Those who
think all religions, all fanaticism can be criticised, only they should
read it. If they are uneasy with this, they should not read it.

Chadian forces have killed 120 militants from Boko Haram in a battle in the north of neighbouring Cameroon that began when the insurgents attacked its troops, the army said in a statement on Saturday, adding that three of its soldiers were killed.

Boko Haram has recently launched cross-border attacks from Nigeria into Cameroon and Chad as part of its five-year drive for an Islamist state in the northeast of Nigeria.

Chad and Cameroon have stepped up troop deployments to fight the militants and on Saturday Chad's army said it bombarded Boko Haram militants.

The African Union (AU) has authorised a force of 7,500 troops from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin to fight the militants and the nations will meet in the Cameroon capital next week to decide on its command structure, Ghana President John Mahama told journalists on Saturday.

"When they meet in Yaounde the rules of engagement will be agreed by the nations constituting the force. It will allow them to move across borders because Boko Haram does not recognise borders," Mahama said on his return from an AU summit.

Chad has a reputation as one of the region's best militaries and it helped French forces drive al Qaeda-linked Islamists from northern Mali in 2013. But previous efforts to create a regional force to fight the militants have faltered.

The Islamic State group said in a video on Saturday it had beheaded a second Japanese hostage, drawing outrage from Tokyo and condemnation from Washington.

The claim was made in a video released online that included no mention of a Jordanian pilot also being held by IS, whom the jihadist group has also threatened to kill.

Japanese journalist Kenji Goto is seen kneeling next to a standing masked man who speaks with a British accent and blames the Japanese government for his "slaughter".

The man, dressed head-to-toe in black with his face covered, appears to be the same IS militant who has featured in the group's previous execution videos.

Goto is dressed in an orange outfit similar to those worn by prisoners at the US-run prison in Guantanamo Bay, also in keeping with hostages in previous IS videos.

The executioner addresses Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, saying the murder of Goto would mark the beginning of "the nightmare for Japan".

Goto's killing, he said, was the result of "reckless" decisions by the Japanese government.

The brief video ends with the image of a body dressed in orange with a decapitated head on top of it.

In Tokyo, a visibly upset Abe vowed to "never forgive terrorists" after news of the video broke early Sunday morning in Japan.

"I am extremely angry about these heinous and despicable terrorist acts. We will never forgive terrorists," the premier told reporters, adding that he was "at a loss for words about the pain that (Goto's) family must feel".

"We will cooperate with the international community to make them atone for their crimes."

US President Barack Obama condemned the "heinous murder" of Goto.

"Through his reporting, Mr Goto courageously sought to convey the plight of the Syrian people to the outside world," Obama said.

National Security Council spokesperson Bernadette Meehan said earlier the United States was working to confirm the video's authenticity.

British Prime Minister David Cameron denounced "what appears to be the despicable and appalling murder of Kenji Goto", adding: "It is a further reminder that ISIL (IS) is the embodiment of evil, with no regard for human life."

French President Francois Hollande also condemned the "brutal murder".

Negotiations 'deadlocked'

The apparent execution came after Japan said negotiations to win Goto's release in a prisoner exchange had stalled.

"It has become deadlocked," deputy foreign minister Yasuhide Nakayama, who is leading Tokyo's emergency response in Jordan, told reporters in Amman late Friday, Japanese media reported.

IS had vowed to kill Goto and Jordanian pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh by sunset Thursday unless Amman handed over an Iraqi female jihadist.

On Saturday morning Abe had renewed orders for officials to maintain close cooperation with Jordan in a bid to secure Goto's release.

"The government has been working with the utmost efforts on the issue -- I deeply regret that this is the result," Abe told reporters.

"Japan will never yield to terrorism...(and) is firmly resolved to fulfil its responsibility in the international community's fight against terrorism." Jordan has demanded evidence that the pilot, who crashed in Syria on December 24, was still alive before freeing would-be suicide bomber Sajida al-Rishawi, who is on death row

The latest video made no mention of Kassasbeh's fate.

Last week IS claimed responsibility for the beheading of another Japanese man it had been holding, self-described contractor Haruna Yukawa, after the expiration of a 72-hour deadline during which the jihadists had asked Tokyo to pay a $200 million (175 million euro) ransom.

'Proof of life'

Jordan has offered to free Rishawi, who was convicted for her part in triple-hotel bombings in Amman in 2005 that killed 60 people, if IS releases the pilot.

The government has been under heavy pressure at home and from Japan -- a major aid donor -- to save Kassasbeh as well as Goto.

On Thursday, government spokesperson Mohammad al-Momani said Rishawi was still in Jordan and would only be released if IS gave it "proof of life".

IS had set the Thursday sunset deadline for Rishawi to be released at the Turkish border in return for Goto but there was no news of a swap by nightfall.

Friday morning Jordan's military said it was still awaiting proof that Kassasbeh was safe.

The pilot's father Safi Kassasbeh begged Amman to save his son's life "at any price".

"We believe in God and we will accept whatever he has in store for us," said Safi Kassasbeh

Goto's wife Rinko also broke her silence this week also to plead for her husband's return.

"My husband is a good and honest man who went to Syria to show the plight of those who suffer," she said.

"I beg the Jordanian and Japanese governments to understand that the fates of both men are in their hands."

IS has imposed a brutal version of Islamic law in territory it controls in Syria and Iraq and has executed since August two US journalists, an American aid worker and two British aid workers.

The Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has cried out over the increasing rate of attacks directed against it by agents of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the State. The party raised the alarm following the bombing, in the wee hours of Saturday, of the venue of its proposed governorship campaign rally in Okrika.The rally, scheduled to hold today, had to be inevitably postponed after hoodlums who drove in a white Hiace bus, stormed the National School field Okrika, venue of the proposed governorship rally, at about 3:45 a.m., shooting sporadically and hauling explosives into the arena and destroying the podium, sound equipment and canopies.“Rivers APC unreservedly condemns the continuing resort to violence by a desperate Peoples Democratic Party, which, having seen the handwriting on the wall, is bent on making Rivers State ungovernable. As a law-abiding party which does not believe in violence, we have chosen to put off today’s rally at great cost to ourselves and to our gubernatorial candidate, Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside, a man of peace who abhors violence on any sort,” State Party Chairman, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya said in a statement issued in Port Harcourt.He regretted that the attackers allegedly came from the direction of Igbiri, a community that shares borders with Oba Ama, an Okrika community and hometown of Nigeria’s First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan. “Rivers APC is pained that this dastardly attack is coming barely days after our Okrika Secretariat was bombed by yet-to-be-identified persons. While we are reluctant to link the Nigerian First Lady with our ordeal, as some people have done, we must however express worry that she has failed to call those behind these attacks to order as they believe that they are doing this to protect her interest, the interest of her husband, President Goodluck Jonathan and their drowning party, the PDP,” Ikanya said. The APC State Chairman said that the police must bear part of the blame “because, apart from turning a deaf ear to our cries for help, information reaching us has it that the police is systematically harassing and arresting our members across the State while looking the other way as armed thugs move from place to place in Okrika, destroying our members’ houses after ensuring that we are not able to hold our rally in the town today as earlier scheduled.”Rivers APC berated the State PDP leader and gubernatorial candidate, Chief Nyesome Wike, for threatening to destroying and burn the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in Port Harcourt if it is not released for the use of President Jonathan for his campaign. The party restated that violence will not save PDP from being disgraced during the February 2015 elections, as the party has been overwhelmingly rejected by the people of the State, whom it has unjustly oppressed over the past five years.Finally, we wish to counsel President Jonathan to prevail on the PDP leadership not to use the stadium issue to destroy the peace of Rivers State knowing very well that the party does not have the membership to fill the stadium. In other words, we are trying to save the president from the embarrassment of addressing an empty stadium.Attached are the relevant pictures of the destruction of our rally venue at OkirikaLong Live APC!Long Live Rivers State!!Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze,

Sioux Falls, SD (KELO AM) - The mild weather of
the past two weeks will be a memory as colder air and snow return to the
region over the weekend.

A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for the Sioux Falls area
and along the I – 90 corridor east and west of Sioux Falls. The
Advisory will be in effect from 6:00 p.m. Saturday night through noon on
Sunday. Snow will begin late Saturday afternoon and continue into
Sunday morning. Accumulations of 3 – 6 inches are expected in the
advisory area.

Winter Storm Warnings have also been issued for northwest Iowa and
part of southeast South Dakota. Depending on your location the Warning
starts at 3:00 p.m. for locations toward Vermillion and Sioux City,
where 7 – 8 inches of snow are expected. For the area in northwest Iowa
closer to Sioux Falls, including Rock Rapids, Larchwood and Sioux
Center, the warning goes into effect at 6 tonight and continues until
noon on Sunday. Six to seven inches of snow are expected in this area.

Colder air will return to the area as well. Temperatures on Saturday
will be in the upper 20’s in Sioux Falls. A high temperature around 12
on Sunday will fall to the single digits by sunset, with a low on
Sunday night around -7. Wind chills Sunday night and Monday morning
will be in the -10 to -20 range. Highs will be in the teens on Monday.